Many types of businesses, especially restaurants, are faced with the daily problem of keeping their floors clean. A typical complication with this process is misuse of a conventional mop. Although mopping is routinely necessary, mopping actually contributes to grease build-up. Every time a mop is removed from a bucket of dirty water, grease and dirt are simply smeared back into the floor. As a conventional mop is dragged along a tiles edge, the edge actually scrapes the dirt and grease off the mop, leaving it in the grout between tiles. Over time, this cleaning procedure can cause more harm than good.
To offset the damage done by mopping, it is further necessary to scrub the floor on a regular basis. The scrubbing procedure is nearly impossible to do with a lightweight scrub brush. To scrub the floor, the user of the scrub brush must exert a force on the brush head. This force comes mainly from the user's back. Over a short period of time, the user's back and muscles become tired, reducing the force the user can exert, which makes this procedure ineffective. To make the scrubbing procedure more effective, some scrub brushes are weighted. The weight exerts a force on the scrub brush so the user does not have to.
One commercially successful design is marketed as THE HEAVYWEIGHT(™) brush. This brush includes a flat, encapsulated weight recessed into a replaceable, oversized brush head. The brush head includes larger diameter, stiffer bristles on the leading and trailing edges to minimize bending of interior bristles and to minimize bouncing of the brush as it is moved back and forth along a floor. The handle is pivotable for use by persons of different stature and for cleaning under tables and other low areas. The recessed weight is secured to the brush head via a threaded member extending vertically from the brush head, which is received in a through-hole in the weight. A pair of wheels are spaced apart along the upper, leading end of the brush head so the brush head may be pivoted forward and rocked onto the wheels for easy transportation to and from a storage location. To prevent pinched fingers, the brush head is recessed in the region of its pivotal connection with the handle, so that even when the handle is pivoted to its lowest point (approx. 90 degrees) there is space between the handle and brush head.
Despite the commercial success of the HEAVYWEIGHT brush, further improvement is provided by reference to the invention discussed herein.